3 - Tesla Coil CH 3a

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TESLA COIL

High voltage high frequency


Tesla coil • The Tesla coil is an electrical
resonant transformer circuit
designed by inventor Nikola Tesla
around 1891 as a power supply for
his "System of Electric Lighting".
• It is used to produce high-voltage,
low-current, high frequency
alternating-current electricity.
• Tesla experimented with a number
of different configurations
consisting of two, or sometimes
three, coupled resonant electric
circuits.
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• Tesla used these circuits to conduct innovative
experiments in electrical lighting, phosphorescence, X-
ray generation, high frequency alternating current
phenomena, electrotherapy, and the transmission of
electrical energy without wires.
• Tesla coil circuits were used commercially in sparkgap
radio transmitters for wireless telegraphy until the
1920s and in medical equipment such as electrotherapy
and violet ray devices.
• Today their main use is for entertainment and
educational displays, although small coils are still used
today as leak detectors for high vacuum systems.

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Operation • A Tesla coil is a radio frequency
oscillator that drives an air-core
double-tuned resonant
transformer to produce high
voltages at low currents.
• Tesla's original circuits as well as
most modern coils use a simple
spark gap to excite oscillations in
the tuned transformer.
• More sophisticated designs use
transistor or thyristor switches or
vacuum tube electronic
oscillators to drive the resonant
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transformer.
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• Tesla coils can produce output voltages from 50
kilovolts to several million volts for large coils.
• The alternating current output is in the low radio
frequency range, usually between 50 kHz and 1
MHz.
• Although some oscillator-driven coils generate a
continuous alternating current, most Tesla coils
have a pulsed output; the high voltage consists of
a rapid string of pulses of radio frequency
alternating current.

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• Homemade Tesla coil in operation, showing brush discharges
from the toroid.
• The high electric field causes the air around the high voltage
terminal to ionize and conduct electricity, allowing electricity to
leak into the air in colorful corona discharges, brush discharges
and streamer arcs.
• Tesla coils are used for entertainment at science museums and
public events, and for special effects in movies and television. 6

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• The common spark-excited Tesla coil circuit, shown below, consists of
these components:
1. A high voltage supply transformer (T), to step the AC mains voltage up
to a high enough voltage to jump the spark gap. Typical voltages are
between 5 and 30 kilovolts (kV).
2. A capacitor (C1) that forms a tuned circuit with the primary winding L1
of the Tesla transformer
3. A spark gap (SG) that acts as a switch in the primary circuit
4. The Tesla coil (L1, L2), an air-core double-tuned resonant transformer,
which generates the high output voltage.
5. Optionally, a capacitive electrode (top load) (E) in the form of a
smooth metal sphere or torus attached to the secondary terminal of
the coil. Its large surface area suppresses premature corona discharge
and streamer arcs, increasing the Q factor and output voltage. 7

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• Unipolar Tesla coil circuit. C2 is
not an actual capacitor but
represents the capacitance of
the secondary windings L2,
plus the capacitance to ground
of the toroid electrode E.

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• Unipolar coil design widely used in
modern coils. The primary is the flat red
spiral winding at bottom, the secondary
is the vertical cylindrical coil wound with
fine red wire. The high voltage terminal
is the aluminum torus at the top of the
secondary coil.

• Bipolar coil, used in the early 20th


century. There are two high voltage
output terminals, each connected to
one end of the secondary, with a spark
gap between them. The primary is 12
turns of heavy wire, which is located at
the midpoint of the secondary to
discourage arcs between the coils.
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Operation • The circuit operates in a rapid repeating cycle
in which the supply transformer (T) charges the

Cycle primary capacitor (C1) up, which then


discharges in a spark through the spark gap,
creating a brief pulse of oscillating current in
the primary circuit which excites a high
oscillating voltage across the secondary
1. Current from the supply transformer (T)
charges the capacitor (C1) to a high voltage.
2. When the voltage across the capacitor
reaches the breakdown voltage of the spark
gap (SG) a spark starts, reducing the spark
gap resistance to a very low value. This
completes the primary circuit and current
from the capacitor flows through the primary
coil (L1). The current flows rapidly back and
forth between the plates of the capacitor
through the coil, generating radio frequency
oscillating current in the primary circuit at 10
the circuit's resonant frequency.

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3. The oscillating magnetic field of the primary winding induces an
oscillating current in the secondary winding (L2), by Faraday's law of
induction. Over a number of cycles, the energy in the primary circuit is
transferred to the secondary. The total energy in the tuned circuits is
limited to the energy originally stored in the capacitor C1, so as the
oscillating voltage in the secondary increases in amplitude ("ring up")
the oscillations in the primary decrease to zero ("ring down"). Although
the ends of the secondary coil are open, it also acts as a tuned circuit
due to the capacitance (C2), the sum of the parasitic capacitance
between the turns of the coil plus the capacitance of the toroid
electrode E. Current flows rapidly back and forth through the
secondary coil between its ends. Because of the small capacitance, the
oscillating voltage across the secondary coil which appears on the
output terminal is much larger than the primary voltage.

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4. The secondary current creates a magnetic field that induces voltage
back in the primary coil, and over a number of additional cycles the
energy is transferred back to the primary. This process repeats, the
energy shifting rapidly back and forth between the primary and
secondary tuned circuits. The oscillating currents in the primary and
secondary gradually die out ("ring down") due to energy dissipated as
heat in the spark gap and resistance of the coil.
5. When the current through the spark gap is no longer sufficient to keep
the air in the gap ionized, the spark stops ("quenches"), terminating
the current in the primary circuit. The oscillating current in the
secondary may continue for some time.
6. The current from the supply transformer begins charging the
capacitor C1 again and the cycle repeats.

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Oscillation • To produce the largest output voltage,
the primary and secondary tuned
frequency circuits are adjusted to resonance with
each other.
• The resonant frequencies of the primary
and secondary circuits, f 1 and f 2, are
determined by the inductance and
capacitance in each circuit.
• Generally the secondary is not
adjustable, so the primary circuit is
tuned, usually by a moveable tap on the
primary coil L1, until it resonates at the
same frequency as the secondary

1 1 1 1
𝑓1 = 𝑓2 =
2𝜋 𝐶1 𝐿1 2𝜋 𝐶2 𝐿2 13

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1 1 1 1
=
2𝜋 𝐶1 𝐿1 2𝜋 𝐶2 𝐿2

• Thus the condition for resonance between primary and secondary is


𝐶1 𝐿1 = 𝐶2 𝐿2
• The resonant frequency of Tesla coils is in the low radio frequency
(RF) range, usually between 50 kHz and 1 MHz. However, because of
the impulsive nature of the spark they produce broadband radio
noise, and without shielding can be a significant source of RFI,
interfering with nearby radio and television reception.

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Output • In a resonant transformer the high voltage
is produced by resonance; the output
Voltage voltage is not proportional to the turns
ratio, as in an ordinary transformer.
• It can be calculated approximately from
conservation of energy.
• At the beginning of the cycle, when the
spark starts, all of the energy in the
primary circuit W 1 is stored in the primary
capacitor C 1.
• If V 1 is the voltage at which the spark gap
breaks down, which is usually close to the
peak output voltage of the supply
transformer T, this energy is
1 15
𝑊1 = 𝐶1 𝑉12
2
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• During the "ring up" this energy is transferred to the secondary circuit.
• Although some is lost as heat in the spark and other resistances, in modern
coils, over 85% of the energy ends up in the secondary.
• At the peak of the secondary sinusoidal voltage waveform, all the energy in
the secondary W 2 is stored in the capacitance C 2 between the ends of the
secondary coil.
1
𝑊2 = 𝐶2 𝑉22
2
• Assuming no energy losses, W 2 = W 1 Substituting into this equation and
simplifying, the peak secondary voltage is

𝐶1 𝐿2
𝑉2 = 𝑉1 = 𝑉1
𝐶2 𝐿1

• The second formula above is derived from the first using 𝐿1 𝐶1 = 𝐿2 𝐶2


• Since the capacitance of the secondary coil is very small compared to the
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primary capacitor, the primary voltage is stepped up to a high value.

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• It might seem that the output voltage could be increased indefinitely by
reducing C 2 and L 1.
• However, as the output voltage increases, it reaches the point where
the air next to the high voltage terminal ionizes and corona discharges,
brush discharges and streamer arcs break out from the secondary coil.
• This happens when the electric field strength exceeds the dielectric
strength of the air, about 30 kV per centimeter, and occurs first at sharp
points and edges on the high voltage terminal.
• The resulting energy loss damps the oscillation, so the above lossless
model is no longer accurate, and the voltage does not reach the
theoretical maximum above

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The Top • Most unipolar Tesla coil designs have a
spherical or toroidal shaped metal
Load or electrode on the high voltage terminal.

Toroid • Although the "toroid" increases the


secondary capacitance, which tends to
Electrode reduce the peak voltage, its main effect
is that its large diameter curved surface
reduces the potential gradient (electric
field) at the high voltage terminal,
increasing the voltage threshold at
which corona and streamer arcs form.
• Suppressing premature air breakdown
and energy loss allows the voltage to
build to higher values on the peaks of
the waveform, creating longer, more
spectacular streamers. 18

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• If the top electrode is large and smooth enough, the electric field at its
surface may never get high enough even at the peak voltage to cause
air breakdown, and air discharges will not occur.
• Some entertainment coils have a sharp "spark point" projecting from
the torus to start discharges.

Solid state DRSSTC (dual resonant solid


state tesla coil) with pointed wire
attached to toroid to produce brush
discharge

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Types • Tesla coil circuits can be classified by the
type of "excitation" they use, what type of
circuit is used to apply current to the
primary winding of the resonant
transformer:
1. Spark-excited or Spark Gap Tesla Coil
(SGTC) - This type uses a spark gap to
switch pulses of current through the
primary, exciting oscillation in the
transformer. This pulsed (disruptive)
drive creates a pulsed high voltage
output. Spark gaps have disadvantages
due to the high primary currents they
must handle. They produce a very loud
noise while operating, noxious ozone
gas, and high temperatures which often
require a cooling system. The energy
dissipated in the spark also reduces the
Q factor and the output voltage. 20

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2. Switched or Solid State Tesla Coil (SSTC) - These use power
semiconductor devices, usually thyristors or transistors such as MOSFETs
or IGBTs, to switch pulses of current from a DC power supply through the
primary winding. They provide pulsed (disruptive) excitation without the
disadvantages of a spark gap: the loud noise and high temperatures. They
allow fine control of the voltage, pulse rate and exciting waveform. This
type is used in most commercial, industrial, and research applications as
well as higher quality entertainment coils.
3. Continuous wave - In these the transformer is driven by a feedback
oscillator, which applies a sinusoidal current to the transformer. The
primary tuned circuit serves as the tank circuit of the oscillator, and the
circuit resembles a radio transmitter. Unlike the previous circuits which
generate a pulsed output, they generate a continuous sine wave output.
Power vacuum tubes are often used as active devices instead of transistors
because they are more robust and tolerant of overloads. In general,
continuous excitation produces lower output voltages from a given input
power than pulsed excitation.
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• Tesla circuits can also be classified by how many coils (inductors) they
contain :
– Two coil or double-resonant circuits - Virtually all present Tesla coils use the
two coil resonant transformer, consisting of a primary winding to which
current pulses are applied, and a secondary winding that produces the high
voltage, invented by Tesla in 1891. The term "Tesla coil" normally refers to
these circuits.
– Three coil, triple-resonant, or magnifier circuits - These are circuits with
three coils, based on Tesla's "magnifying transmitter" circuit which he
began experimenting with sometime before 1898 and installed in his
Colorado Springs lab 1899-1900, and patented in 1902.They consist of a
two coil air-core step-up transformer similar to the Tesla transformer, with
the secondary connected to a third coil not magnetically coupled to the
others, called the "extra" or "resonator" coil, which is series-fed and
resonates with its own capacitance. The presence of three energy-storing
tank circuits gives this circuit more complicated resonant behavior. It is the 22
subject of research, but has been used in few practical applications.
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The Skin • The dangers of contact with high-
frequency electric current are
Effect sometimes perceived as being less than
at lower frequencies, because the
subject usually does not feel pain or a
'shock'.
• This is often erroneously attributed to
skin effect, a phenomenon that tends to
inhibit alternating current from flowing
inside conducting media.
• It was thought that in the body, Tesla
currents travelled close to the skin
surface, making them safer than lower-
frequency electric currents.
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• Although skin effect limits Tesla currents to the outer fraction of an inch in
metal conductors, the 'skin depth' of human flesh is deeper than that of a
metallic conductor due to higher resistivity and lower permittivity.
• Calculations of skin depth of body tissues at the frequency of Tesla coils
show that it can be greater than the thickness of the body.
• Thus there seems to be nothing to prevent high-frequency Tesla currents
from passing through deeper portions of a subject's body, such as vital
organs and blood vessels, which may be better conducting.
• The reason for the lack of pain is that a human being's nervous system does
not sense the flow of potentially dangerous electric currents above 15–20
kHz; essentially, for nerves to be activated, a significant number of ions
must cross their membranes before the current (and hence voltage)
reverses.
• Since the body no longer provides a warning 'shock', novices may touch the
output streamers of small Tesla coils without feeling painful shocks.
• However, anecdotal evidence among Tesla coil experimenters indicates
temporary tissue damage may still occur and be observed as muscle pain,
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joint pain, or tingling for hours or even days afterwards.

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• This is believed to be caused by the damaging effects of internal current flow, and is
especially common with continuous wave, solid state or vacuum tube Tesla coils
operating at relatively low frequencies (tens to hundreds of kHz).
• It is possible to generate very high frequency currents (tens to hundreds of MHz) that
do have a smaller penetration depth in flesh.
• These are often used for medical and therapeutic purposes such as
electrocauterization and diathermy.
• The designs of early diathermy machines were based on Tesla coils or Oudin coils.
• Large Tesla coils and magnifiers can deliver dangerous levels of high-frequency
current, and they can also develop significantly higher voltages (often 250,000–
500,000 volts, or more).
• Because of the higher voltages, large systems can deliver higher energy, potentially
lethal, repetitive high-voltage capacitor discharges from their top terminals.
• Doubling the output voltage quadruples the electrostatic energy stored in a given
top terminal capacitance. Professionals usually use other means of protection such
as a Faraday cage or a metallic mail suit to prevent dangerous currents from entering
their bodies.
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